Casey

When I was little, my grandmother used to make "hard" fudge. Normal fudge, the kind you can cut with the little plastic knives from the store, is "soft". Hers was hard, almost as hard as the chocolate from a king-sized Hershey bar.

It was hard and grainy, and I loved it. So did the rest of the family, but she never had a recipe. Far as I know, she took what she knew of it to the grave.

Any ideas? Has anyone ever done this? She was German, so I've thought maybe it's a German idea, but nothing's ever turned up. I've looked for more than a decade and can't find a shop or fudge maker anywhere who makes it.

When I was little, my grandmother used to make "hard" fudge. Normal fudge, the kind you can cut with the little plastic knives from the store, is "soft". Hers was hard, almost as hard as the chocolate from a king-sized Hershey bar.

It was hard and grainy, and I loved it. So did the rest of the family, but she never had a recipe. Far as I know, she took what she knew of it to the grave.

Have you tried just overcooking plain fudge, and not beating it very much?

altoidsaddict

My mom makes this from my great-great-grandmother's recipe! If it matters, the great-great-grandmother came from a German family as well.

The answer I found on the Internet (caveat: I've never made fudge of any texture) is that the recipes for soft and hard fudge are the same, but hard fudge is boiled longer. This allows the sugar to crystallize and form a hard bond with the rest of the ingredients. Keep watch over the fudge to make sure it doesn't go too far in the grainy direction, or it will fall apart; this shouldn't be too long past that soft stage. Since you won't know until it cools and hardens, you may have to experiment a few times.

Any ideas? Has anyone ever done this? She was German, so I've thought maybe it's a German idea, but nothing's ever turned up. I've looked for more than a decade and can't find a shop or fudge maker anywhere who makes it.

I think I've found it... could it be so simple as 250 for a temp instead of 234? Today, I find out!

That can indeed be it. Also, Hersheys CoCo powder used to hav a fudge recipe that was harder and more grainy than "regular" fudge... I have the recipe in an old clippings book my mom made, it is still my favorite.

Now if only my PawPaw had not taken his Peanut butter fudge recipe to the grave... SIGH